Excitement builds for renowned GC Forum | Extractives, a day of “dynamic discussions” and engaging experts

The upcoming 2026 GC Forum | Extractives in Cape Town will not only bring great networking opportunities for African mining and energy in-house counsel - who get to rub shoulders with an inspiring crowd of industry peers, senior sector experts, and other stakeholders - but also valuable learning and cross-pollination of good ideas that can spark practical results, says Alida Rossouw of Vedanta Zinc International. 

“I have taken back and implemented some of the ideas that came from these GC Forums,” says Rossouw, a Senior Legal Counsel who is one of several industry experts named as speakers, so far, for the GC Forum | Extractives on 11 February. 

Under the theme “Africa’s Critical Core | Minerals, Markets and Global Collaboration”, the GC Forum 2026 will explore how shifting geopolitics, new investment flows, and evolving legal frameworks are reshaping Africa’s extractives future, and advance the conversation toward Africa’s growing influence in the global energy transition.

Rossouw will be part of an expert panel on "Financing the Transition: Carbon-based Fuels and the Future of African Investment”, confronting the challenges the continent faces in terms of securing investment for the carbon-based fuels and energy systems needed for its ongoing development today, while building credible, just, and sustainable transition pathways for tomorrow. She will be joined by Mohamed Stevens, Legal Counsel at African Legal Support Facility, among others. 

Lachlan Poustie, an expert on the development and financing of highly complex mining, energy and infrastructure projects, will moderate a discussion on “The Geopolitics of Critical Minerals: Africa at a Crossroads". Poustie is partner at global law firm A&O Shearman, one of several returning GC Forum | Extractives sponsors, and will be joined by Dr Gracelin Baskaran, Director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Christopher Vandome, the Founding Head of Chatham House Global Critical Minerals Initiative. 

Another returning sponsor, Baker McKenzie South Africa, described the GC Forum | Extractives as an exciting day of “dynamic discussions on innovative legal frameworks and forging sustainable alliances in the mining and energy sectors”. 

At February's GC Forum, Baker McKenzie will host a headline CEO Fireside Chat, with the firm’s Global Chair of Energy & Infrastructure, Richard Blunt, in a candid conversation with Fortuna Mining's President and CEO Jorge A Ganoza. The duo will explore how vision, resilience, and integrity guide leadership through Africa’s energy transition, and reflect on balancing investor and community needs, navigating political complexity and building trust through ethical, transparent decision-making.

Now in its seventh year, next February’s GC Forum | Extractives will once again take place in Cape Town alongside the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference.

Through a range of topical high-level panel discussions, quickfire expert insights sessions, and fireside chats, the GC Forum 2026 will examine the balance between sovereignty and global collaboration, the rise of critical minerals and the pivotal role of technology, governance, and legal counsel in driving sustainable growth. 

The day will be compered by Kevin Lester of SkyBlue Africa Advisory, who was for many years the General Counsel for Anglo American’s upstream businesses across South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Chile, and Peru. SkyBlue Africa Advisory, a strategic partner with the GC Forum | Extractives, work with boards, GCs, and executives at complex moments when clarity is needed, stakes are high, and direction is unclear

Other expert speakers named so far include Amaechi Nsofor, Partner and Head of Africa at Grant Thornton UK; Liz Snodgrass, Partner at Three Crowns; Jamie Doyle, Head of Legal & Commercial, Africa at Perenti Group; Abdoul Karim Kabèlè Camara, Vice-President Government and External Affairs for Fortuna Mining Corporation; Claudia Salomon, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; Warren Beech, CEO of Beech Veltman Inc; and Jasmine Abrahams, Vice President of Sustainability at Ivanhoe Mines. 

Returning sponsor Beech Veltman Inc described GC Forum | Extractives as a highly engaging event that “reinforced the legal sector’s vital role in responsible and sustainable mining”. Other sponsors and strategic partners for the upcoming GC Forum include Three Crowns LLP, Grant Thornton, Hogan Lovells, Lewis Silkin, Tiefenthaler Attorneys Inc, Gowling WLG, Microsoft, and Keidan Harrison. 

“The level of interest in our next GC Forum | Extractives has been unprecedented, and it speaks to what many of us are feeling: the need for spaces where we can come together, learn from one another, and move forward as a community,” says Scott Cowan, co-founder and CEO of Africa Legal, host of the GC Forums.

The renowned one-day event will close with bigger-than-ever networking and cocktail receptions, with a few end-of-day surprises still to be unveiled. 

For more more information on the GC Forum | Extractives, including further details of our speakers and 2026 agenda, please visit the website here. 

This event is free to attend for mining and energy GCs and in-house legal teams; mining and energy professionals in leadership, risk and compliance roles; government relations, policy and regulatory professionals; investors and financiers in the mining and energy sectors; NGOs and academia. Registration is closed to non sponsoring law firms. 

To attend please register here.